https://doi.org/10.4081/aamr.2025.509
Adverse effect profile of COVID-19 vaccine in Northern Nigeria: a prospective observational study
Published: February 18, 2025
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Authors
In March 2021, the Nigerian Government approved Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines, including CHAd0x1 nCov-19, Ad26.Cov2.S, mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2. Many, including healthcare workers, expressed hesitancy due to potential adverse effects. We conducted an observational study to assess the adverse effects of post-vaccination.
We followed vaccinated and unvaccinated cohorts daily for 7 days and then weekly for 3 weeks. We compared adverse effects between groups.
Vaccinated participants were 21 times more likely to experience an adverse effect (Relative Risk, RR=21.30; 95% Confidence Interval, 95%CI=8.107-56.012) and 4 times more likely to experience systemic adverse effects (RR=3.97; 95%CI=1.70-9.27) when compared to unvaccinated participants. Female participants were significantly associated with the development of both local and systemic adverse effects, X2=77.9% (p≤0.001) and X2=47.1% (p=0.0037), respectively. Up to 81.6% of second-dose vaccine recipients compared to 68.4% of first-dose vaccine recipients developed at least one adverse effect, X2=5.25 (p=0.071). None of the vaccinated participants developed severe adverse effects during the study period.
Adverse effects from COVID-19 vaccination are common, but generally safe and tolerable. Females play a significant role in reporting adverse effects. Both systemic and local adverse effects are expected to resolve within a few days post-vaccination.
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How to Cite
Awang, S. K., Dunga, J. A., Stephen, R. I., Dika, J., Sahabi Mohammad, A., Gargah Elijah, T., … Shehu, N. Y. (2025). Adverse effect profile of COVID-19 vaccine in Northern Nigeria: a prospective observational study. Annals of African Medical Research, 8. https://doi.org/10.4081/aamr.2025.509
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